Poetry Contest: Your Best Humanist Haikus for National Poetry Month,Peter Bjork,TheHumanist.com

TheHumanist.com is pleased to announce the winners of our Third Annual Haiku Contest in honor of National Poetry Month.

Three weeks ago, we requested entries of haikus about humanism and humanist values. Submissions were required to be in the form of a haiku, a seemingly simple form of poetry in three lines: five syllables on line one, seven syllables on line two, and five syllables on line three.

We received eighty-four entries, our judges chose seven of their favorites, and you can read them below. A huge thank you to all of the poets who submitted their haikus. And another big thank you to our panel of judges: Nicole Carr, Anna Clay, Emily Newman, Meredith Thompson, Kate Uesugi, and Peter Bjork.

The winners will also appear in the Summer Issue of our print magazine.

Here, in random order, our 2022 top humanist haikus:

Sharpen the mind’s quill
Fill the well with ink and draw
From experience

—Justin Hauxwell

It’s not very hard.
Common sense shows us the way.
Love is the answer.

—Steve W

Inhabit nature
Take hold of your destiny
Boundless potential

—Jean Waller

World humanity
A universe of wonders
My adoration.

—Russell Dick

What leads to progress…
Fantasy, faith, or prayer?
No, people move us

—Don Sturm

Live for the moment
And live for one another
That’s Humanism

—Justin Hauxwell

Pampas grass spreads plumes
Across this hill. Noon sun comes.
We feast on brilliance.

—John Laue

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Our judges have selected seven fantastic poems that express humanist values.
The post Poetry Contest: Your Best Humanist Haikus for National Poetry Month appeared first on TheHumanist.com.